Kind of a quiet ending. Since the bad guys were only big/introduced in the past few books, and not majorly, their comeuppance was kind of meh. And other than their comeuppance the denouement was practically unevventful. It didn't bother me too much, though. It did wrap everything up just fine IIRC.

The Sons of Heaven in no way fixed my objection to the multiple-personality problem, although the "raising a cyborg" interludes were occasionally funny. The good parts are Lewis and his captor/princess, the intra-Company politicking, and the overall neat wrap-up of the larger plot, which I was mostly satisfied with.

This is really the end of the series - there are a few other bits and pieces here and there, but they're purely bonus material. I have to say after reading everything, I remain convinced that the Company works better as a conceit to build short stories from than as a world to build actual novels in, but it comes together well enough at the end. ( )

It seems no series these days can end without going all super-hero on its characters (I'm looking at you, Peter Hamilton), and Baker's long-running Company series is no exception. "Feh!" I say. If I wanted the Avengers, I'd buy comics.

Still I did enjoy the book. It was certainly much better than its most recent predecessors. There's not a lot of doubt how things will end, only the details of who does what to whom, there being so many parties revved up to be the last mortals or immortals standing in 2355. Baker does a good job bouncing between them. Mendoza is no longer the swooning heroine of a bad romance novel, but neither is she as interesting or as important as she was in the early novels. The rest of Baker's heros would be right at home in a classic to late Heinlein novel. Her villains continue to be powerful and unbelievably clueless. It's not a fair fight, but it's a fun one. ( )

Just a couple short comments, which add really nothing of consequence but may contain slight spoilers:

The LibraryThing reviewers who dislike this book all offer legitimate critiques. Perhaps half of the book is devoted to Mendoza's family, and it's both slow and occasionally annoying. And the climax--as Joseph's epilogue complains--is pretty darn tidy. Mendoza and Joseph are mere shadows of themselves in this book, and the reincarnations of Nicholas continue to be unbearable (even after they come to their senses, methinks). And, yes, there's too much California and London for a book that supposedly discusses world domination salvation.

But the last half of the book is just wonderful, with Budu's army of massive tenors and countertenors, Victor's absolutely perfect revenge on his masters, Lewis's escape from his fate, and all the threads converging on Avalon on The Day of Silence. Captain Morgan's schemes actually work. There are obvious jokes, jokes that assume you read carefully, and jokes that assume you're well-read. Gosh this is fun.

I've followed Kage Baker for years - since the days before she'd even published a Company novel. I've read each of the Company stories, savoring each novel, each short story. I love her worlds, I love her characters, and I love her writing style.

This book was not her best. I am happy that she was able to resolve her story before she died, but I was left wondering if the softball ending was because of her illness. I could easily see several more novels filling the gaps between this and the previous, and at times the pace of the Sons of Heaven reflected this.

To be fair, my favorite characters are most assuredly not Alec/Edward/Nicholas, and even Mendoza (so perfect in In the Garden of Iden) has been reduced to mediocrity by her love for them. Honestly? I could have gone for another book about Lewis or further developments with Joseph, or really, pretty much anything else.

I love this book, as I love all of her stories. I just wish it would have been better. ( )

Wikipedia in English (1)

This is the Kage Baker novel everyone has been waiting for: the conclusion to the story of Mendoza and The Company.

In The Sons of Heaven, the forces gathering to seize power finally move on the Company. The immortal Lewis wakes to find himself blinded, crippled, and left with no weapons but his voice, his memory, and the friendship of one extraordinary little girl. Edward Alton Bell-Fairfax, resurrected Victorian superman, plans for world domination. The immortal Mendoza makes a desperate bargain to delay him. Enforcer Budu, assisted by Joseph, enlists an unexpected ally in his plans to free his old warriors and bring judgment on his former masters.

Executive Facilitator Suleyman uses his intelligence operation to uncover the secret of Alpha-Omega, vital to the mortals' survival. The mortal masters of the Company, terrified of a coup, invest in a plan they believe will terminate their immortal servants. And they awaken a powerful AI whom they call Dr Zeus.

This web of a story is filled with great climaxes, wonderful surprises, and gripping characters many readers have grown to love or hate. It's a triumph of SF!

In the conclusion to the story of Mendoza and The Company, the forces gathering to seize power finally move on the Company. The immortal Lewis wakes to find himself blinded, crippled, and left with no weapons but his voice, his memory, and the friendship of one extraordinary little girl.… (more)